The Race to Monaco & The Special Builders' Breakfast Club

Remembering that I’d Forgotten…..

I rang the chaps at the forge yesterday to say that I’d forgotten to mention that I’m putting a 6 cylinder engine in the chassis instead of the original 4 and would they recommend an extra leaf in the springs at the front to help with the weight? No, not really. Instead, they would put an extra 3/4″ of set in the springs and they then went on to explain something that I wasn’t aware of vis-a-vis the actual leaves themselves. It turns out that one or two of the leaves, depending on the vehicle type, will be mounted so that the set is in opposition to the general curvature of the spring when seen as a unit. This helps dampen any tendency to continue to oscillate indefinitely and goes some way to explaining why, if you’re daft enough to dismantle a leaf spring without this fore-knowledge, you’ll end up with a hole in the plasterboard ceiling of your workshop the exact size of the centre pin nut.

I learn something most days and today I’ve learned another 2 things, the second being that if you go to undo a particularly recalcitrant nut and it’s at head height, keep your nose out of the way because when the end of the spanner hits it, it jolly well makes your eyes water. The first is something I learned a long time ago and today was just a bit of a refresher – a sort of ‘heads-up-dopey-we’ve-been-here-before’……. not only are adjustable spanners fundamentally dangerous but they always adjust themselves the wrong way first.

Still, despite the assault, some progress has been made and the middle engine mount is coming along nicely. I offered it up for a photo opportunity and then set it on the bench to get the pedal shaft sorted out. The rear brake operating shaft which occupies the lower holes in the mounting plates will need a couple of bushes as will the pedal shaft but, I can’t do the latter until I’ve got the brake pedal off the pedal shaft. I’ve drilled out the pin but it seems to be brazed as well whereas on my ’29 model, the brake pedal is simply keyed and clamped. I’ve hunted around for another Hillman brake pedal and I found one but it’s a different design again and much heavier in construction. I may end up cutting the shaft either side of the pedal boss and boring out what’s left. I’ll lose the shaft but the pedal’s in the wrong position on the shaft in any case (which is why I’m trying to remove it).